Every so often my photography goes off at a tangent, or to put it another way, I have a go at something I had at no time, ever in my life, planned to do. This might be because I have spotted an unplanned event or because I just want to see what else I and my box of tricks can pull off. If it works I might share it. If it is an epic fail I might not. BUT, the point is, I had a go and if I pull it off, to an acceptable degree, then I will diary it […]

All right minded photographers I know just CANNOT wait to set the alarm for ridiculous (or as a good friend of mine would say, ludicrous) o’clock, leap purposefully out of bed, stub their toe, and race to their chosen spot in pursuit of a sunrise photo. More often than not the sun will be lurking behind clouds, laughing its head off but sometime it does play ball and we return home happy chappies/chappesses. I was, for a long time, guilty of shooting a lovely sea with the sun rising out of it – hey presto. But…..recently, on my latest Scillies […]

One of the conversations I often have with clients/friends is what is so special about RAW? Well, this is a personal choice – to shoot in RAW or .jpeg format – but for my work I will try and explain why RAW is my choice most of the time. RAW is one of the available ‘quality’ settings on the camera which you can set and the camera/sensor/processors then accepts the image given and does minimal editing or tweaking to the shot. In other words, the image is RAW not ‘cooked’ – whereas the .jpeg setting DOES edit. It adjusts colour, removes redundant […]

If you don’t already know Kelvin, he could be a best friend when you are out taking photographs. Kelvin is the measurement of colour temperature and is a digital camera’s way of handling the ambient light around you to give a balanced output that matches pretty well what you see. The white balance function on DSLR cameras holds a common set of ‘presets’ from Auto through to K (Kelvins!). By dialing the white balance to K you are NOW allowing yourself total control over the camera’s white balance, and not allowing the camera to give you one of its preset […]

A good friend of mine, and a keen photographer, is very fond of the square presentation. I have always advocated looking hyper-critically at your own work to see if it might benefit from a crop but to be sure I hadn’t really ‘got my head around’ the square presentation. The working ratios of most cameras give a fixed format which generally looks good and works well. So what better reason to have a change? I have offered up here a shot as taken from the camera, of a swirl pattern in the sand of a nearby beach, spotted and shot […]

Just not long back from leading a one:one photo workshop with a great client and friend in that beautiful part of Wales known as Gower (NEVER The Gower, as I once found out!). The weather was favourable and the subjects he wished to photograph were there in abundance. We were, however, particularly blessed with interesting skies and clouds – especially clouds. Clouds are those funny things that can elevate a photograph from being ‘nice’ to being something rather special. Why? Well, in my view, a rather special or unusual cloud pattern or formation, apart from an additional eye catching interest, […]

Landscape photography – I started off years ago with the broad assumption that for all landscape photography we had to use a wide angle lens. I confess I am not too sure where this assumption originated from but it was there, in my head. Wrong! Landscapes are not at all easy to photograph in the sense that we are seeking to capture and convey a deep sense of what attracted us to the location in the first place and want to share that wonder with others. True the landscape could stretch out before us, or contain a sweeping oxbow river […]

but it is not that far away. I often struggle for inspiration through Spring which may seem a bit odd. After all, it is the time of year when all the new growth is bright and fresh, farm animals are all cute and cuddly, and all seems well with the world. Trouble is it is an annual event and tends to, er, repeat itself. So, our challenge is to think differently. What can we do? Well, maybe get down and dirty with snowdrops? Lie next to them, throw the aperture wide open and place them in their environment. Maybe open […]

Polarizing filters are possibly THE most useful for outdoor photography. In my opinion they have three key functions: 1. they darken blue skies and enhance cloud detail 2. they increase colour saturation markedly 3. they reduce (maybe remove) reflections It’s the third function I want to demonstrate here. Last Monday I was tutoring someone in general waterfall photography techniques along the Vale of Neath. We discussed the use of polarisers, which were absent in her kitbag (they won’t be for long!). I loaned her mine to show just how they can impact a waterfall/river shot. Firstly, notice in the polarised […]

this can add another interesting dimension to your outdoor photography. Not only does the viewer get to see the subject matter well executed, but gets to see it twice! I was exploring Cardiff Bay Waterfront a few days ago and tried shooting the Techniquest Education Centre using a nearby puddle. Both the shots are below, with no reflection and with reflection. I have to say that my preference is for the reflection shot, but what do YOU think? Maybe after a shower of rain (very likely any second now in the UK) go out and actively seek reflections – they […]